


Always

by inkcode007



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24492331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/inkcode007/pseuds/inkcode007
Summary: Reader fic about Adora's whole inability to believe she deserves happiness too (I cried so much y'all). A little angsty, but with a happy ending. Reader character loosely based off OC, but it's not really relevant here other than Reader has fire/electricity manipulation powers. Also posted on Fanfic.net.
Relationships: Adora (She-Ra)/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 50





	Always

**Author's Note:**

> As per usual - I do not own She-Ra , any of its characters, or anything associated with it. I just borrowed the "and what do you want, Adora?" line because oof. All rights go to their respective owners. I'm just maybe, possibly, perhaps, a tiny bit in love with a fictional character, I dunno. 
> 
> Love,  
> Caspian ❤️ 
> 
> P.S apologies for any mistakes, and comments/feedback always appreciated.

I walked through the woods, my feet quietly falling on the grass, the sound drowned out by the melody of the ocean. The sun had started to set, just barely peeking over the horizon and sending long shadows across the ground. Its glow tinted the sky in a beautiful blend of pinks, blues, and purples. Up ahead, I saw a small silhouette, the wind blowing a familiar pony tail to the side. Stopping, I looked at the figure. My heart started pounding erratically, climbing up my throat and strangling the airflow. For days I had been wracking my mind to find a way to help, to find the right words, the right time. I wanted to let Adora know that she didn’t have to carry the world on her shoulders, that she mattered just as much as everyone else... and to me... to me she mattered so much more. Now, sadly - I wasn’t the best with words. Most times I rambled and stumbled over them, scratching at the back of my neck in embarrassment, but I had to try. I was tired of watching her sacrifice everything again and again because she didn’t think she deserved the very things she was fighting for. With a shaking hand, I ran my fingers through my hair and took a steadying breath. I didn’t want to startle her, so as my steps were muffled by the sand I cleared my throat quietly. Adora didn’t flinch when I reached her. She rested her chin on the knee tucked to her chest, the other laid out in front of her. Her left hand played with the sand, throwing chunks out into the water. The motion made a funny noise and sent ripples out in the inky sea. The sun hung over the ocean, making the tops of waves twinkle with light. I sat down next to her, nervously fidgeting with my fingers, poking at the calluses in my palm.

“How are you feeling?” I asked, which was the best (and pretty awful) my panicked brain could come up with. Shadow Weaver had practically told her the only way to save the whole universe was to — to sacrifice everything. Someone had to take the code to the Heart, She-Ra being the only one strong enough to do it... but Adora couldn’t transform anymore. Which meant... she might not come back from it. Something desperate and angry twisted in my chest, something that left me feeling dazed, out of control, and paralyzed all at once. A kind of fear that burrowed itself deep in my bones and clawed at all of me — the fear of losing her, after everything, the fear of losing Adora. The girl smiled sadly, void of any real joy or enthusiasm. I could see the storm brewing in her eyes, the usual sky blue vanishing into dark gray clouds. She looked tired, not the kind of tired from physical exertion, but the kind of exhaustion that clings to the heart, that leaves red marks around the corners of one’s eyes, the kind that embodies resignation. It was unsettling; I knew that darkness didn’t belong in her gaze, didn’t belong in her heart. Adora sighed and shrugged. 

“I’m alright. It is what it is. I have to do this. It’s the only way,” Adora looked up now, gazing into the horizon with her eyebrows drawn and her jaw set — like she had already made peace with not coming back from what lay ahead. The erratic beating of my heart stopped abruptly, a painful clenching sensation wrapping around it instead, leaving me feeling like a frantic, trapped animal. 

“No. There has to be another way. We can figure this out together. We can save Etheria and you, we can-“ I started, but Adora was already shaking her head, a few stray pieces of blonde hair falling from the pony tail and framing her face. They were usually neatly tucked back, but now spilled around the curves of her cheeks in little curls, gleaming in the fading rays of sunshine. It made her glow, not in the usual powerful way with She-Ra; it was warmer, gentler — beautiful. 

“There isn’t, Y/N. This is what I have to do. I’m She-Ra. It’s my destiny,” Adora mumbled the last part, her head falling back onto her knee, her whole posture radiating submission and exhaustion. I stood up angrily, the dejection in her voice stirring something powerful in my chest, urgent and overwhelming — wild. 

“And what about  _ Adora _ , huh? Why are you so willing to sacrifice her? Did you ever stop to think that maybe we don’t want to just let her go? She means something to us too! It’s not just She-Ra, the great warrior of Etheria or whatever,  _ Adora _ matters too!” I finished, not meaning for the words to sound so harsh and bitter, but I was losing control. For so long I had tried to keep calm, to respect Adora’s choice, but seeing how she had already decided that throwing her life away was ok sent me into a frenzied state. Adora stood up too, her demeanor straightening into one of exasperation as she moved to stand toe-to-toe with me. The irises of her eyes were wider now, swirling with dark blues and grays, sparkling with a fierceness that left me breathless. However, amidst all the anger, the fire, the determination; I saw the creeping shadow of fear. 

“What do you want me to do?! I can’t just sit this one out! I’m the  _ only one _ who can do it, so I have to! Why can’t you just see that I have to?” Adora asked, her eyebrows furrowed deeply, her jaw set squarely, taught muscles visible under the delicate skin. I bit back the growl that crept up my throat, pushing the deep rumble back into my chest. 

“Because you don’t!  _ You don’t _ have to do this alone, but you keep pushing everyone away! You won’t even let me try to help you!” I was shaking now, voice hurt and strangled. My hands felt like icicles and my legs grew weak. Adora glared at me, gaze dark and dangerous. 

“You can’t help me! I don’t  _ want _ you to!” She shouted, the words cutting through me like hot shards of glass. I stumbled back a bit, kicking up a bit of sand, but I held my ground. I refused to stop fighting for her. 

“And what  _ do you _ want Adora?” My voice trickled out quietly now: afraid, hopeful — and broken. Adora’s eyes softened as she looked into my own with so much emotion it was almost impossible to decipher, but I picked up on one thing — regret. 

“... it doesn’t matter...” she whispered, her shoulders sagging forward, and I felt my last bit of resolve shatter. 

“ _ It does matter! _ It matters to your friends! It matters to the people you so desperately want to save! It - it matters to  _ me _ !” I shouted through gritted teeth, fists shaking, panic pumping through my blood. I couldn’t lose her. I wouldn’t. Adora’s eyes turned steely and she glowered at me again, her lips tight, but there were tears falling down her cheeks, leaving trails of droplets that glistened in the last few sun rays. 

“And why do  _ you _ care so much?!” She growled, shoving me in the chest, almost pounding on my ribs, her own hands curled into white knuckled fists. I stepped back, but Adora followed. The tide had risen and was now licking at our feet, the splashes soaking our shoes. Adora’s hair kept whipping in the wind, the fight leaving a rosy blush across her nose and cheeks. Fading rays of golden light highlighted tiny little freckles dotting the tip of her nose, a sea of stars sprinkled across her elegant features. I stopped breathing. The desperation boiling in my chest building too much pressure, too many words left in the darkness of secrecy… until I finally let them spill off my lips. 

“Because  _ I want you _ ,” I whispered. Adora gasped quietly and stepped back a little, her eyes wide. I looked into them, searching for rejection, for fear, for the wall that would shut me out, but I couldn’t decipher the riddle they held. 

“What?” Adora asked, just barely loud enough for me to hear. Sparks were flying off of my shoulder, a traitorous sign of my nervousness. I swallowed the knot in my throat, searching for the words so long ago branded onto my heart — inescapable and inevitable. 

“I... I want you.  _ I love you _ , Adora. I think... I think I have since the day I met you. Which is why I can’t stand that you’re so willing to let Adora die. I love you,” I breathed, too afraid to move any closer. I desperately searched Adora’s eyes for an answer, for anything. She just looked at me with her pink lips slightly parted in confusion and her blue eyes twinkling indecipherably. 

“You — you love me?” She asked. I nodded and took a hesitant step closer, hearing my heart hammering against my eardrums. Adora didn’t back away. I tentatively reached for her hand with my right and placed my left under the curve of her jaw, aware of how shaky my hand was, how hot my fingers felt when I touched her skin, hotter than when I molded fire. 

“Always,” I spoke into the sliver of space between us. Adora didn’t speak, but she linked her fingers together with mine, her breath hitching in her throat, and she ever so slightly leaned closer. I felt like my heart was going to give out any second, but I was lost in the sky blue eyes in front of me, in the scent of vanilla and ocean spray, in the girl that had decked me with a sword upon our first meeting. I couldn’t let her go. I’d never let her go. I closed the remaining distance, pressing my lips gently to Adora’s, tenderly asking if this was ok. Adora’s eyes fluttered shut, a small little sigh creeping past her lips and ghosting across my own, as she eased into the delicate embrace. Something inside my heart shifted, a piece that hadn’t quite fit in suddenly falling into place, everything fell into place, and I felt delirious. It felt like gravity had disappeared and time paused its race, leaving us suspended in a moment that felt secret and eternal. I shifted closer, wrapping one arm around Adora and carefully pulling her to me, my left hand caressing the damp delicate skin of her cheek. My lips moved slowly and shyly, but I felt waves of emotion washing over me: the fear of losing her, the peacefulness and chaos of having her so close, of kissing her. I felt lost and helpless and stupidly content about it. There was an urgency to my touch, a need to have her understand. Have her know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I chose her, I loved her, I needed her, not She-Ra, not the savior of the universe, but the girl with a heart of gold and the dorkiest most brilliant smile. I needed Adora, and maybe it was selfish, maybe it was even wrong of me, but I would fight until there was nothing left of me to keep her here, to protect her, to carry that burden with her and bring her back into the world she saved. I swore in that moment I’d do anything for her, even if she didn’t want me to. I felt hot tears dripping down my cheeks, and I didn’t know whose they were, but I didn’t care. Adora had tangled her hand in the hair at the nape of my neck and the other was clutching at the fabric of my sweatshirt on my chest, right over my heart, healing it, protecting it, giving it strength to keep fighting - for her. I gently pulled away, leaning my forehead against hers, my arms linking around her waist. She wrapped her arms around my neck and nuzzled my shoulder, smiling into my battered hoodie. 

“I love you too, Y/N,” Adora whispered against the skin of my neck, sending electricity running up my spine, actual sparks flying off the tips of my ears. We both chuckled. I pulled away for a moment, tenderly holding Adora’s chin between my thumb and finger and looking into the gleaming sea of emotion in her eyes. 

“Promise me you’ll fight for Adora too. Promise me you won’t give up on ... on us...  _ on you _ , Adora. You deserve to have a happy ending too. Please, don’t die for us, for all of Etheria. _ Live _ for us,” I pleaded with a sort of desperation and deep aching that left me dizzy, my voice breaking halfway through as I looked at Adora. I cupped her face in my hands gingerly and kissed her forehead, brushing away a few stray tears with my thumb. Adora closed her eyes and sighed, holding onto my wrists.

“I promise I’ll try,” she whispered. I wrapped her up in my arms again, holding her as close to me as I could, burrowing my face in the crook of her neck. I breathed calmly, letting her presence soothe me, ground me, strengthen me. “Promise me you’ll be there, with me?” Adora asked timidly, tightening her embrace and turning her head to kiss my temple.

“I promise I will always be with you.”

  
  



End file.
